Sources disagree on how the nickname "Buffalo Soldiers" began. According to the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum, the name originated with the Cheyenne warriors in the winter of 1877, the actual Cheyenne translation being "Wild Buffalo." However, writer Walter Hill documented the account of Colonel Benjamin Grierson, who founded the 10th Cavalry regiment, recalling an 1871 campaign against Comanches. Hill attributed the origin of the name to the Comanche due to Grierson's assertions. The Apache used the same term ("We called them 'buffalo soldiers,' because they had curly, kinky hair ... like bisons") a claim supported by other sources.[3][4] Some sources assert that the nickname was given out of respect for the fierce fighting ability of the 10th Cavalry.[5] Still other sources point to a combination of both legends.[6] Another possible source could be from the Plains Indians who gave them that name because of the bison coats they wore in winter.[7] The term Buffalo Soldiers became a generic term for all black soldiers. It is now used for U.S. Army units that trace their direct lineage back to the 9th and 10th Cavalry units, whose service earned them an honored place in U.S. history.

From 1866 to the early 1890s, these regiments served at a variety of posts in the Southwestern United States and the Great Plains regions. They participated in most of the military campaigns in these areas and earned a distinguished record. Thirteen enlisted men and six officers from these four regiments earned the Medal of Honor during the Indian Wars. In addition to the military campaigns, the Buffalo Soldiers served a variety of roles along the frontier, from building roads to escorting the U.S. mail. On April 17, 1875, regimental headquarters for the 9th and 10th Cavalries were transferred to Fort Concho, Texas. Companies actually arrived at Fort Concho in May 1873. At various times from 1873 through 1885, Fort Concho housed 9th Cavalry companies A–F, K, and M, 10th Cavalry companies A, D–G, I, L, and M, 24th Infantry companies D–G, and K, and 25th Infantry companies G and K.[8]

Buffalo Soldier in the 9th Cavalry, 1890

In total, 23 Buffalo Soldiers received the Medal of Honor during the Indian Wars.[9]

A lesser known action was the 9th Cavalry's participation in the fabled Johnson County War, an 1892 land war in Johnson County, Wyoming, between small farmers and large, wealthy ranchers. It culminated in a lengthy shootout between local farmers, a band of hired killers, and a sheriff's posse. The 6th Cavalry was ordered in by PresidentBenjamin Harrison to quell the violence and capture the band of hired killers. Soon afterward, however, the 9th Cavalry was specifically called on to replace the 6th. The 6th Cavalry was swaying under the local political and social pressures and was unable to keep the peace in the tense environment.

The Buffalo Soldiers responded within about two weeks from Nebraska, and moved the men to the rail town of Suggs, Wyoming, creating "Camp Bettens" despite a hostile local population. One soldier was killed and two wounded in gun battles with locals. Nevertheless, the 9th Cavalry remained in Wyoming for nearly a year to quell tensions in the area.[10][11]

The men of the Buffalo Soldiers were the only African Americans that fought in Cuba during the war.[14] Additionally, the Sixth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment had a company of African-American soldiers, company L, that saw action in Puerto Rico.[15] Up to 5,000 "Black men" enlisted in volunteer regiments in the Spanish–American War in Alabama, Illinois, Kansas, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia, and some had all black officers.[16] Several other African-American regiments of United States Volunteer Infantry (USVI) were formed and nicknamed "Immune Regiments", as they were mistakenly believed to be resistant to tropical diseases, but only the Ninth Immunes served overseas in the war.[17][18]

U.S. Army regiments had been serving in these national parks since 1891, but until 1899, the soldiers serving were white. Beginning in 1899, and continuing in 1903 and 1904, African American regiments served during the summer in the second- and third-oldest national parks in the United States (Sequoia and Yosemite). Because these soldiers served before the National Park Service was created (1916), they were "park rangers" before the term was coined.

A lasting legacy of the soldiers as park rangers is the Ranger hat (popularly known as the Smokey Bear hat). Although not officially adopted by the Army until 1911, the distinctive hat crease, called a Montana peak, (or pinch) can be seen being worn by several of the Buffalo Soldiers in park photographs dating back to 1899. Soldiers serving in the Spanish–American War began to recrease the Stetson hat with a Montana "pinch" to better shed water from the torrential tropical rains. Many retained that distinctive crease upon their return to the U.S. The park photographs, in all likelihood, show Buffalo Soldiers who were veterans from that 1898 war.

One particular Buffalo Soldier stands out in history: Captain Charles Young, who served with Troop "I", 9th Cavalry Regiment in Sequoia National Park during the summer of 1903. Charles Young was the third African American to graduate from the United States Military Academy. At the time of his death, he was the highest-ranking African American in the U.S. military. He made history in Sequoia National Park in 1903 by becoming Acting Military Superintendent of Sequoia and General Grant National Parks. Charles Young was also the first African American superintendent of a national park. During Young's tenure in the park, he named a giant sequoia for Booker T. Washington. Recently, another giant sequoia in Giant Forest was named in Captain Young's honor. Some of Young's descendants were in attendance at the ceremony.[21]

The Richard Allen Cultural Center in Leavenworth, Kansas, includes the home of a former black U.S. Army soldier. The museum shares the histories of African Americans living on the Kansas frontier during pioneer days to the present, especially those serving in the U.S. Army as Buffalo Soldiers.

In 1903, 9th Cavalrymen in Sequoia built the first trail to the top of Mount Whitney, the highest mountain in the contiguous United States. They also built the first wagon road into Sequoia's Giant Forest, the most famous grove of giant sequoia trees in Sequoia National Park.

In 1904, 9th Cavalrymen in Yosemite built an arboretum on the South Fork of the Merced River in the southern section of the park. This arboretum had pathways and benches, and some plants were identified in both English and Latin. Yosemite's arboretum is considered to be the first museum in the National Park System. The NPS cites a 1904 report, where Yosemite superintendent (Lt. Col.) John Bigelow, Jr. declared the arboretum "To provide a great museum of nature for the general public free of cost ..." Unfortunately, the forces of developers, miners, and greed cut the boundaries of Yosemite in 1905 and the arboretum was nearly destroyed.[22]

In the Sierra Nevada, the Buffalo Soldiers regularly endured long days in the saddle, slim rations, racism, and separation from family and friends. As military stewards, the African American cavalry and infantry regiments protected the national parks from illegal grazing, poaching, timber thieves, and forest fires. Yosemite Park Ranger Shelton Johnson researched and interpreted the history in an attempt to recover and celebrate the contributions of the Buffalo Soldiers of the Sierra Nevada.[23]

On March 23, 1907, the United States Military Academy Detachment of Cavalry was changed to a "colored" unit. This had been a long time coming. It had been proposed in 1897 at the "Cavalry and Light Artillery School" at Fort Riley, Kansas that West Point cadets learn their riding skills from the black noncommissioned officers who were considered the best. The 100-man detachment from the 9th,[24] and 10th[25] Cavalry served to teach future officers at West Point riding instruction, mounted drill, and tactics until 1947.[24]

The Buffalo Soldiers were often confronted with racial prejudice from other members of the U.S. Army. Civilians in the areas where the soldiers were stationed occasionally reacted to them with violence. Buffalo Soldiers were attacked during racial disturbances in Rio Grande City, Texas, in 1899,[26]Brownsville, Texas, in 1906,[27] and Houston, Texas, in 1917.[28][29]

Pershing started as a first lieutenant when he took command of a troop of the 10th Cavalry in October 1895.[31]

In 1897, Pershing became an instructor at West Point, where he joined the tactical staff. While there, cadets upset over Pershing's harsh treatment and high standards took to calling him "Nigger Jack," in reference to his service with the 10th Cavalry Regiment.[31]

This was softened (or sanitized) to the more euphonic "Black Jack" by reporters covering Pershing during World War I.[32] At the start of the Spanish–American War, First Lieutenant Pershing was offered a brevet rank and commissioned a major of volunteers on August 26, 1898. He fought with the 10th Cavalry (Buffalo Soldiers) on Kettle and San Juan Hills in Cuba and was cited for gallantry.[31]

During World War I, Pershing was the Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) on the Western Front. He had a full delegation of authority from President Wilson and Secretary of War Baker. Baker, cognizant of the endless problems of domestic and allied political involvement in military decision-making in wartime, gave Pershing unmatched authority to run his command as he saw fit. In turn, Pershing exercised his prerogative carefully, not engaging in issues that might distract or diminish his command. While earlier a champion of the African-American soldier, he did not defend their full participation on the battlefield, bowing to widespread racial attitudes among white Americans, plus Wilson's reactionary racial views and the political debts he owed to southern "separate but equal" Democratic lawmakers.[30]

The outbreak of the Mexican Revolution in 1910 against the long-time rule of President Porfirio Díaz initiated a decade-long period of high-intensity military conflict along the U.S.–Mexico border as different political/military factions in Mexico fought for power. The access to arms and customs duties from Mexican communities along the U.S.–Mexico boundary made border towns like Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Ojinaga, Chihuahua, and Nogales, Sonora, important strategic assets. As the various factions in Mexico vied for power, the U.S. Army, including the Buffalo Soldier units, was dispatched to the border to maintain security. The Buffalo Soldiers played a key role in U.S.–Mexico relations as the maelstrom that followed the ousting of Díaz and the assassination of his successor Francisco Madero intensified.[citation needed]

By late 1915, the political faction led by Venustiano Carranza received diplomatic recognition from the U.S. government as the legitimate ruling force in Mexico. Francisco "Pancho" Villa, who had previously courted U.S. recognition and thus felt betrayed, then attacked the rural community of Columbus, New Mexico, directly leading to further border tensions as U.S. President Woodrow Wilson unilaterally dispatched the Punitive Expedition into Chihuahua, Mexico, under General John Pershing to apprehend or kill Villa. The 9th and 10th cavalries were deployed to Mexico along with the rest of Pershing's units. Although the manhunt against Villa was unsuccessful, small-scale confrontations in the communities of Parral and Carrizal nearly brought about a war between Mexico and the United States in the summer of 1916. Tensions cooled through diplomacy as the captured Buffalo Soldiers from Carrizal were released. Despite the public outrage over Villa's Columbus raid, Wilson and his cabinet felt that the U.S.'s attention ought to be centered on Germany and World War I, not the apprehension of the "Centauro del Norte." The Punitive Expedition exited Mexico in early 1917, just before the U.S. declaration of war against Germany in April 1917.[citation needed]

The Buffalo Soldiers did not participate with the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) during World War I, but experienced noncommissioned officers were provided to other segregated Black units for combat service—such as the 317th Engineer Battalion. The soldiers of the 92nd and the 93rd infantry divisions were the first Americans to fight in France. The four regiments of the 93rd fought under French command for the duration of the war.

The U.S.-Mexico border in Nogales in 1898: International Street/Calle Internacional runs through the center of the image between Nogales, Sonora (left), and Nogales, Arizona (right). Note the wide-open nature of the international boundary. A Customs House is located near the center of the image.

On August 27, 1918, the 10th Cavalry supported the 35th Infantry Regiment in a border skirmish in the border towns of Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Sonora, between U.S. military forces, Mexican Federal troops, and armed Mexican civilians (militia) in the Battle of Ambos Nogales.
This was the only incident in which German military advisers allegedly fought along with Mexican soldiers against United States soldiers on North America soil during World War I.[13][19]

The 35th Infantry Regiment was stationed at Nogales, Arizona, on August 27, 1918, when at about 4:10 pm, a gun battle erupted unintentionally when a Mexican civilian attempted to pass through the border, back to Mexico, without being interrogated at the U.S. Customs house. After the initial shooting, reinforcements from both sides rushed to the border. On the Mexican side, the majority of the belligerents were angry civilians upset with the killings of Mexican border crossers by the U.S. Army along the vaguely defined border between the two cities during the previous year (the U.S. Border Patrol did not exist until 1924). For the Americans, the reinforcements were the 10th Cavalry, off-duty 35th Regimental soldiers, and militia. Hostilities quickly escalated, and several soldiers were killed, and others wounded on both sides, including the mayor of Nogales, Sonora, Felix B. Peñaloza (killed when waving a white truce flag/handkerchief with his cane). A cease-fire was arranged later after the US forces took the heights south of Nogales, Arizona.[13][19][33]

Due in part to the heightened hysteria caused by World War I, allegations surfaced that German agents fomented this violence and died fighting alongside the Mexican troops they led. U.S. newspaper reports in Nogales before the August 27, 1918, battle documented the departure of part of the Mexican garrison in Nogales, Sonora, to points south that August in an attempt to quell armed political rebels.[34][35][36]

Despite the Battle of Ambos Nogales controversy, the presence of the Buffalo Soldiers in the community left a significant impact on the border town. The famed jazz musician Charles Mingus was born in the Camp Stephen Little military base in Nogales in 1922, son of a Buffalo Soldier.[37] The African American population, centered on the stationing of Buffalo Soldiers such as the 25th Infantry in Nogales, was a significant factor in the community, though they often faced racial discrimination in the binational border community in addition to racial segregation at the elementary-school level in Nogales's Grand Avenue/Frank Reed School (a school reserved for Black children).[38] The redeployment of the Buffalo Soldiers to other areas and the closure of Camp Little in 1933 initiated the decline of the African American community in Nogales.

Before World War II, the black 25th Infantry Regiment was based at Ft Huachuca. During the war, Ft Huachuca served as the home base of the Black 92nd and 93rd Infantry Divisions. The 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments were mostly disbanded, and the soldiers were moved into service-oriented units, along with the entire 2nd Cavalry Division. The 92nd Infantry Division, the "Buffalo Division," served in combat during the Italian campaign. The 93rd Infantry Division—including the 25th Infantry Regiment—served in the Pacific theater.[39] Separately, independent Black artillery, tank, and tank destroyer battalions, as well as quartermaster and support battalions served in World War II. All of these units to a degree carried out the traditions of the Buffalo Soldiers.

Despite some official resistance and administrative barriers, Black airmen were trained and played a part in the air war in Europe, gaining a reputation for skill and bravery (see Tuskegee Airmen). In early 1945, after the Battle of the Bulge, American forces in Europe experienced a shortage of combat troops, so the embargo on using black soldiers in combat units was relaxed. The American Military History says:

Faced with a shortage of infantry replacements during the enemy's counteroffensive, General Eisenhower offered black soldiers in service units an opportunity to volunteer for duty with the infantry. More than 4,500 responded, many taking reductions in grade to meet specified requirements. The 6th Army Group formed these men into provisional companies, while the 12th Army Group employed them as an additional platoon in existing rifle companies. The excellent record established by these volunteers, particularly those serving as platoons, presaged major postwar changes in the traditional approach to employing Black troops.

In 1948, President Harry Truman signed Executive Order 9981, which desegregated the military and marked the first federal piece of legislation that went against the societal norms implemented through Jim Crow Segregation. During the Korean War, black and white troops operated in integrated units for the first time.

The 24th Infantry Regiment saw combat during the Korean War and was the last segregated regiment to engage in combat. The 24th was deactivated in 1951, and its soldiers were integrated into other units in Korea. On December 12, 1951, the last Buffalo Soldier units, the 27th Cavalry and the 28th (Horse) Cavalry, were disbanded. The 28th Cavalry was inactivated at Assi-Okba, Algeria, in April 1944 in North Africa, and marked the end of the regiment.[40]

The song and music of "Soul Saga (Song of the Buffalo Soldier)" has had several renditions. In 1974, it was produced by Quincy Jones in the album Body Heat.[44] In 1975, the album Symphonic Soul contained another variation and was released by Henry Mancini and his Orchestra.[45]

The song "Buffalo Soldier", co-written by Bob Marley and King Sporty, first appeared on the 1983 album Confrontation. Many Jamaicans, especially Rastafarians like Marley, identified with the "Buffalo Soldiers" as an example of black men who performed with exceeding courage, honor, valor, and distinction in a field that was dominated by Whites and persevered despite endemic racism and prejudice.[46]

The song "Buffalo Soldier" by The Flamingos specifically refers to the 10th Cavalry Regiment. The song was a minor hit in 1970.[47]A cappella group The Persuasions remade the song on their album Street Corner Symphony. This version was produced by David Dashev and Eric Malamud.[48][49]

Buffalo Soldier Memorial of El Paso, in Fort Bliss, depicting CPL John Ross, I Troop, 9th Cavalry, during an encounter in the Guadalupe Mountains during the Indian Wars

The 1960 Western filmSergeant Rutledge tells the story of the trial of a 19th-century black Army first sergeant of the 9th Cavalry, played by Woody Strode, falsely accused of rape and murder. One of the characters explains how the term "Buffalo Soldier" was created by Plains Indians who first saw troopers of the 9th Cavalry wearing buffalo coats and caps in winter and thought they looked like buffalo. The movie's theme song, "Captain Buffalo", was written by Mack David and Jerry Livingston.[50]

A 1961 episode of the television series Rawhide ("Incident of the Buffalo Soldier", season 3, episode 10, aired January 6, 1961) was about a former top sergeant Buffalo Soldier stationed at Fort Wingate.[51]

A 1964 episode of Rawhide ("Incident at Seven Fingers", season 6, episode 30, aired May 7, 1964) was about a top sergeant of Troop F, 110th Cavalry Regiment (played by William Marshall) who is accused of being a coward and a deserter. Other Buffalo Soldiers and an officer track him down.[52]

A 1967 episode of television series The Big Valley called "The Buffalo Man" has the Barkleys establish a parole system in the valley to help give convicts a new start. One of the convicts is a former Buffalo Soldier named Damien, who has a chip on his shoulder and would not admit to his former years in the service, even when Mrs. Barkley sees his tattoo. He has experience with horses and tries to help a foal feed from its mother. The Barkleys want to help him earn parole. The guard, who mistreats the prisoners and believes Damien is "the worst", tells him he will not be getting his parole and poisons the foal, making it look like Damien did it. Damien stands up for himself, and the other prisoners take the opportunity to try to escape. They kill the guard and try to take the Barkleys hostage. Damien stops the other convicts, getting shot in the shoulder. Mrs. Barkley tries to see if he is all right and he says "It's nothin' it's nothin'. I'm a Buffalo Soldier, remember?"[53]

A 1968 episode of television series The High Chaparral ("The Buffalo Soldiers", season 2, episode 10, aired November 22, 1968), starring Yaphet Kotto, had the 10th Cavalry, C Company called in to establish martial law at the request of the citizens of Tucson, to help relieve it from the grip of a crime boss.[54]

The 1976 film Joshua, starring Fred Williamson, tells the story of a black soldier who, returned from fighting for the Union in the Civil War, becomes a bounty hunter determined to track down his mother's killers.[55]

The 2017 Netflix series Godless has a camp of former Buffalo Soldiers that have turned to farming (their fighting days behind them). In the series it is explained that the term "Buffalo Soldier" is derived from when John Randall held off 70 Indians with only a pistol, having killed 13 of them while he sustained multiple wounds. This explanation however is largely fictitious.[57]

^General DeRosey C. Cabell, “Report on Recent Trouble at Nogales, 1 September 1918,” Battle of Nogales 1918 Collection, Pimeria Alta Historical Society (Nogales, AZ). See also DeRosey C. Cabell, “Memorandum for the Adjutant General: Subject: Copy of Records to be Furnished to the Secretary of the Treasury. 30 September 1918,” Battle of Nogales 1918 Collection, Pimeria Alta Historical Society (Nogales, AZ). Furthermore, an investigation by Army officials from Fort Huachuca, Arizona, could not substantiate accusations of militant German agents in the Mexican border community and instead traced the origins of the violence to the abuse of Mexican border crossers in the year before the Battle of Ambos Nogales. The main result of this battle was the building of the first permanent border fence between the two cities of Nogales.

^“Military Commanders Hold Final Conference Sunday,” Nogales Evening Daily Herald (Nogales, AZ), September 2, 1918; Daniel Arreola, “La Cerca y Las Garitas de Ambos Nogales: A Postcard Landscape Exploration,” Journal of the Southwest, vol. 43 (Winter 2001), pp. 504-541. Though largely unheard of in the U.S. (and even within most of Mexico), the municipal leaders of Nogales, Sonora, successfully petitioned the Mexican Congress in 1961 to grant the Mexican border city the title of "Heroic City," leading to the community's official name, Heroica Nogales, a distinction shared with other Mexican cities such as Heroica Huamantla, Tlaxcala, and Heroica Veracruz, Veracruz, communities that also saw military confrontation between Mexicans and U.S. military forces.

^The 13 Indians weren't killed by Randall, but rather by the soldiers coming to rescue him. While Indians started to use the term Buffalo Soldiers around that time, there is no direct connection to the incident with Randall. See for instance: William H. Leckie, Shirley A. Leckie: The Buffalo Soldiers: A Narrative of the Black Cavalry in the West. University of Oklahoma Press, 2012, ISBN9780806183893, pp. 26-27